A Multilevel Investigation of Individual and Residence Risk Factors on Student Drinking

摘要

Living on-campus is a risk factor for heavy drinking and alcohol-related harm. However, there is considerable variability in drinking rates and harm across students and across living units on campuses. Multilevel models were used to investigate the independent and cross-level interactive effects of individual characteristics (personality, motives, perceived norms) and residence characteristics (social density, room type, gender distribution, number of Residence Assistants) as predictors of student alcohol outcomes. Participants were first-year students (N = 651; 71 girls) living in one of five on-campus housing units at an Eastern Canadian University. Level-1 predictors of impulsivity, sensation seeking, perceived norms, enhancement motives, and social motives were positively associated with heavy episodic drinking (HED) and alcohol-related harm. Coping and conformity motives were also associated with more alcohol-related harm. Residence characteristics did not directly impact drinking outcomes but significant cross-level interactions between social density and impulsivity and social density and sensation seeking were observed for HED and harms. Simple slope analysis of the significant interactions revealed that students with high/average impulsivity and students with low/average sensation-seeking tended to report more HED and harms when living in residences with higher social density. Findings suggest that social density of residences may pose risk for students with disinhibited personality traits. Selective personality-targeted prevention programs may help minimize this risk by giving these students the skills to manage their personality vulnerability when presented with high-risk contexts. Further, lower social density living environments may reduce social pressures to engage in high-risk behaviors among impulsive students. Public Significance Statement Levels of student drinking and alcohol harms are most strongly linked to people's reasons for drinking, their perception of how much their peers drink, and their personality. However, living in residence building that house large numbers of students further increases drinking risks for specific students. Living in a residence building with a large number of students (>300) increased alcohol use and harms for students who were high on impulsivity (acting without thinking) and student who were low on sensation seeking (seeking out novel and intense activities). Targeted interventions may help these students navigate risky residence environments and minimize their alcohol-related risks.